Now Screening: 2018 German Film Festival

It’s back! After sitting on the bench last year, the 2018 German Film Festival will dazzle audiences nationwide, reminding you just why you need to unfurl your lederhosen and yodel to your nearest Bier Haus. Screening in Melbourne at Palace Como and Kino Cinemas till Wednesday, 6 June, this year’s hand-picked programme features 32 films, each showcasing Germany’s finest cinematic talent. Take a step back as Milk Bar Mag runs through our top recommendations.

Dusted off from the archives is the 1987 fantasy-drama, Wings of Desire. Directed by Wim Wenders, who took the gong for Best Director at Cannes, the visual masterpiece follows two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, who are visible only to like-minded entities and children alike. The angels see the world in black and white, listening to the thoughts of mortals, and it is not until Damiel becomes human – after falling in love with a trapeze artist from West Berlin – that the technicolour world is revealed to him.

Gutland is the perfect reminder of why you probably shouldn’t trust someone who emerges from a forest in Luxembourg, carrying only a duffel bag, and looking for work. Shady vibes indeed. Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread) and Frederic Lau (Victoria) star as the protagonists with palpable chemistry in the film set to be one of the year’s celebrated thrillers.

The phrase, “when one doors closes, a window opens”, is contrived and cliched as hell. But for Arthur and Claire, a chance encounter at the darkest moment of their lives sparks a blossoming new beginning. Set in the streets, canals and boroughs of Amsterdam, Arthur & Claire is the razor-sharp black comedy that will make you appreciate the light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how bleak things can appear to be. How’s that for another cliché?

Whether you want to dive into a gripping drama, a laugh-out-loud comedy or romantic tale, let this year’s German Film Festival make you fall in love with all things Deutsch.